The University of St. Thomas’ National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) chapter members attended the 50th NSBE conference in Atlanta, Georgia, in March. This year’s theme for the conference was focused on “CommUNITY,” celebrating from a personal, campus, or professional standpoint.
It was community connections that made the trip possible. Thanks to a grant from 3M to the School of Engineering, the trip was supported for all 12 members. The grant, administered by Bitya Birkneh, the president of the NSBE-St. Thomas chapter, allowed students who previously were not able to attend to have the financial support to do so.
Meshach Okanla, a board member and sophomore at St. Thomas majoring in mechanical engineering, said the conference “was just such a great experience because every single person there was of color, whether that be African American, whether that be Latino – the entire diaspora was there. So, it was really a good experience to see people that look like you in engineering in STEM.”
Since its founding in 1975, NSBE has been at the forefront of promoting diversity and equality in the fields of engineering while supporting the aspirations of Black engineers and technologists. St. Thomas’ chapter members are among more than 24,000 active members in over 600 chapters in the U.S. and abroad. NSBE continues to thrive by fulfilling its mission to “increase the number of culturally responsible Black engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally, and positively impact the community.”
NSBE is committed to building a strong sense of unity among all its members by focusing on personal, campus and professional communities. The organization reaffirms its dedication to fostering a more diverse and inclusive engineering community, with a vision of creating a brighter future for all.
